State approval pushes Rockford's indoor City Market plans forward

ROCKFORD - The state this week approved financing plans for the expansion of Rockford City Market into a year-round affair, giving the project a boost after it's stalled for much of the past year.

State approval allows the city and Rock River Development Partnership to push forward a concept to convert a cluster of empty building space between 114 and 118 N. Madison St. into an indoor marketplace. The property's west side connects to a rear ally that faces the outdoor market space in downtown Rockford.

The buildings are an empty shell in need of several improvements including utility work and kitchen amenities. Market Coordinator Cathy McDermott hopes construction can begin in the fall, once detailed financial plans and design are complete, though she said that's an aggressive timeline.

The indoor market, like its outdoor counterpart, would host local growers, retailers, bakers and other vendors as well as entertainment every Friday. It would also anchor businesses in the Madison Street storefronts that could be open daily, or at least more frequently than the Friday-only events. The space could also host art shows, holiday markets or other special events.

McDermott said the market would add new events gradually and cautiously.

"More important than growing too quickly is maintaining our quality," she said.

Common to both markets is the ability to grow local businesses while creating products in high demand from the community, said Mayor Larry Morrissey.

"It's not the only piece, but it's a significant piece of the puzzle to help continue the path of growing small business," Morrissey said. "My hope is that we ultimately have a downtown filled with small shops."

Peter Provenzano, chairman of Rock River Development Partnership, brought plans for an indoor version of the market to the city more than three years ago. Read a timeline here.

The project was at risk of losing $2.5 million in state grants if money wasn't spent by Jan. 31. But the state agreed to extend the deadline for approval of a complex financial structure that required the establishment of a new for-profit subsidiary of the Rock River Development Partnership to enable it to use federal and state historic tax credits needed to fund the project.

On Tuesday, after several months of discussion with the state, RRDP and Morrissey, the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity approved the financial structure for market improvements.

The outdoor market has brought thousands of people downtown and exposed them to new local businesses they wouldn't have discovered without the draw of the market. About 46 percent of patrons discovered a new downtown business during a trip to the seasonal market, according to a survey by Rock River Development Partnership. An estimated $2.2 million was spent by patrons at Rockford City Market and another $1.3 million was spent at downtown businesses on market nights in 2013, a study by Market Umbrella showed.

City Market brought people downtown who don't normally go there, said Kate Sullivan, co-owner of Kate's Pie Shop. Once they were there they discovered how nice it is, she said.

"Suddenly there's this mini-festival going on with so much diversity and so many unique booths and vendors," she said. "It was a catalyst for everybody."

Sullivan used the market to grow her customer base without having a brick-and-mortar location. She has since launched a by-appointment-only location at 406 N. Main St. and serves lunch Wednesday through Sunday at Riverfront Museum Park.

"I would love nothing better to have yet another satellite operation in the (indoor) City Market," Sullivan said. "We'll always do the City Market. It's phenomenal. I love it. It's fun. It's like a mini-Waterfront every Friday night."

The first City Market launched June 11, 2010, and had about 1,000 visitors. That first season attracted roughly 20,000 people. It's grown each year to more than 75,000 visitors last season.

The year-round event would get people accustomed to coming downtown and further building up local businesses, said Ronit Golan of Rockford. Golan used City Market as a chance to test her culinary skills, bringing an array of Mediterranean dishes to the market for the first time last season. She hopes to grow into a full-time business and says the indoor market would provide more opportunities to build her customer base. She said she's not the only one who stands to benefit.

"It will build up downtown," she said. "The City Market - and this is even before I was involved in it - I think is one of the best things they've done in Rockford."

Kevin Haas: 815-987-1410; khaas@rrstar.com; @KevinMHaas

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